Bemz on opening for big names, M4 Festival, and recognition from the BBC

Bemz is a rapper based in Glasgow, by way of Nigeria, London and Stranraer. He's made a name for himself thanks to his eclectic style and his energetic performances. He's supported somehuge names, and runs his own festival, M4, which just had its' very succesful second instalment at SWG3, headlined by English rising star Kwes E. His last full-length project, Nova's Dad (named for his daughter), came in 2023, but he tells us new music is coming soon. We sat down with Bemz to talk opening gigs, new music, the future of M4, and his love for Tinie Tempah.

DB: You’ve opened for some really big established artists: Grandmaster Flash, Denzel Curry, Casisdead. What’s the difference for you between headlining gigs, and opening? Whether it’s in your performance style or how you engage with the crowd?

Bemz: A clichéd answer to that is there’s not really a difference. Job needs done regardless, whether it’s a headline or whether it’s a support. The difference that I notice when it’s my own headline, I already know that the people who are coming there like my music. So, I’m nervous, but I’m a little bit more composed. I’m going to a room filled with people who are here to see me. That in itself is nerve-wracking. I’m not gonna kid on that it’s not. But when it’s a support gig nine out of ten people don’t know you. I’ve got a harder job there because I need to go out and grab people’s attention because realistically a lot of the time nobody really cares about the support act. They’re just there to see the main headliner, especially when it’s someone big. I’ve got to go out there and essentially try to gain people’s attention and get them to believe in who I am and buy into me as much as they buy into the headliner. The mindset is completely different for either show. But I give a hundred percent to both because both are beneficial in different ways.

DB: You’ve opened for The Snuts as well. How do you find that - opening for acts of a different genre?

Bemz: The first ever time I opened up for The Snuts, the first thing that I asked was, “Does anybody like rap music in here?” And it was crickets. You know when you watch them cartoons and you just see tumbleweed just rolling about? Brother, it was like that. That made me realize that again, I had to switch up my technique. Rather than making them like the music, I made them like me - so the gig was more crowd engagement. Me and my DJ do this thing, when we’re playing a show where the audience is different, we essentially put on a stand-up comedy act type thing, get the crowd involved in it. By the end, they might not necessarily like the music, but they like you. And because they like you, they’re more engaged with the music. It’s tough, but again, I love things like that. I love shows like that because it forces you to learn on the spot and takes you out your comfort zone a little bit.

DB: You started out at TRNSMT as an opener, then most recently you headlined the BBC Introducing Stage. What does that progression mean to you?

Bemz: On a personal level, it’s great. I went from being the first playing- a lot of my friends missed half my set cause they were queuing up. That’s how early we were playing. The main reason I played that show was because I won BBC Scottish Act of the Year. So, the way I see it is, to progress from the early stages to the closer is the greatest thing ever. To go from being booked to play TRNSMT because I won a competition, to being booked to play TRNSMT off my own merit is even bigger. So, on a personal level, it’s a great journey. But for someone who’s been in the game for a long time… the progression has been beneficial for me, but I don’t think it’s been beneficial for the scene because in those three years since I played TRNSMT from open till close, I’ve not seen another rapper play TRNSMT. In those three years, the only person who’s benefited from that progression is me, and not the community. So, it has a bit of a black mark to it.

DB: As you said, you won BBC Radio Scotland’s inaugural Scottish Act of the Year in 2022. What did that mean for you and your career?

Bemz: Firstly, I’ve just got to say big up to the BBC man. Winning that really put me on a journey and set me apart from a lot of people. I went from just being another artist to being the artist. Being the first ever is crazy when you deep it, bro. I’ve got that trophy in my house and nobody can ever take that away from me. It doesn’t even matter who wins it going forward. I was the first. It was a brilliant achievement. It was great to see my music get love and respect from an industry standpoint. My goal next is to be the BBC Artist of the Year, not Scottish Act of the Year. Artist of the Year. Out of all the four corners of the UK - I want to be that guy. But, yeah, it set me apart and it was a blessing and it opened a lot of doors for me.

DB: You grew up between Nigeria, London, and Stranraer. Three very, very different places. Musically, how has that influenced your style?

Bemz: It influenced me in the way I make music and the way I appreciate music. Growing up with Afrobeats and Nigerian gospel music is one thing. Then in London, I liked grime and stuff like that. That meant the way I approached music was more from a London perspective, the way I chose my beats. When I moved to Stranraer, I was introduced to a whole new genre of music that I’ve never ever heard before in my life. I was listening to techno, was listening to Makina, listening to drum and bass, listening to heavy metal and all that type of stuff. I was pushed into a culture that I never had any access to growing up. When I first started making music, I only made the music the way I knew how to, which would probably be more London focused. But over the years as I grew as a musician, I’ve now started embracing more Scottish music. My next music that’s coming out, you’ll be able to hear the difference. It’s an audio representation of the mixture of my culture, of being a Nigerian boy who grew up in London but spent a majority of his life in Scotland. It gave me a newfound appreciation for just sound and not being ashamed or afraid to switch between all the different genres I grew up with and I like.

DB: You’ve been running M4 Festival for two years. You describe it as “for us, by us.” How important is it for you to have these musical spaces in Scotland that are run by people like yourself with a genuine passion for and knowledge of the music from being ingrained in it, rather than promoters who maybe aren’t as genuine and might be money hungry?

Bemz: At the end of the day, the industry’s made up of money hungry people who don’t have the knowledge or to deal with the type of music we make in Scotland. I look at how blessed and fortunate that I am that I’ve had these opportunities to play festivals., especially the big ones in Scotland. But what use is that if it’s just me playing it and none of my peers are getting that opportunity? That was the whole point of M4 Festival. I’m looking at all these major festivals and I’m not seeing people who look like me, from Glasgow, that make rap music on these platforms. You can either sit and moan about it, or you can do something that will make a change about it. Hence, we created M4. I just hope that the artists who play it come away feeling better and feeling like they were part of something that, I pray, ends up becoming historic in Scotland.

DB: You headlined last year. Kwes E headlined this year. Is there anything you can tell us about what’s next for the festival?

Bemz: Nope, nope, nope [laughs]. For me, it’s just building it into a space. The first year it was very all Scottish, which is great. But I realized that there’s a link between what’s happening in Scotland, with a lot of the music that’s coming out of the UK. If we can bridge that gap, like having a local act say that they supported Kwes E, and build those relationships, then it means you can create an infrastructure that is actually solid and works in the long term. We’re just going off the back of that. By God’s grace we’ll probably see another couple of artists come to Glasgow and grace the stage, whilst the main body of the festival will be all Scottish acts. That’s what I can say right now.

DB: You linked up with Tinie Tempah a couple of weeks ago at his show in Glasgow. He’s someone that you’ve referenced a lot as an influence or a hero. What does it mean to you to be at a place now in your career where you guys are peers?

Bemz: I have to give a big shout out to my boy Leon Balogun [former Rangers defender and Nigerian international]. He made that happen for me, knowing how much of a big fan I was of Tinie Tempah. I’m a big man now, but I’ll never be afraid to say I’m a fanboy of someone. Not even just for the music purposes, but for everything that he was able to do as a young Black brother growing up in London. He still has the most sold albums first week from a UK [rap] artist. He set a standard that people in these last 10-15 years still can’t catch up to. That for me is inspirational. So, to get an opportunity to not only see him live, but to actually chill with him, and give him his flowers in person. That shit was the greatest experience of my life. I did an interview a couple of years back when they asked me who my dream feature would be. I said, for young Bemz it’s got to be Tinie Tempah. Hopefully one day that comes and you get a Bemz and Tinie track.

DB: Outside of Tinie, who is your dream collaborator?

Bemz: Musically, Dave will always be up there for me. I’d love to do a track with Dave, or even get a Dave produced track. Right now, I’m listening to a lot of Jim Legxacy, love that guy. Locally, I want to do something with Brooke Combe, Joesef. There’s this brother from Aberdeen called FER4Z. His song was my number one song on my Spotify Wrapped. If I had to pick right now it’d be either Dave or Jim Legxacy.

DB: What’s your favourite show you’ve ever played?

Bemz: Fucking hell. I’ve got bare answers. Selling out SWG3 was insane. Selling out King Tut’s, that show was insane. Those ones were big was because they were sentimental, and they were things that I had written down that I wanted to do. Playing the Barrowlands with Corto.Alto at the beginning of this year was insane. The audience was great. Every single show that I play is special. Playing KOKO in London as well with The Snuts. That was insane as well.

DB: 2025’s been a big year for you. What can we look out for and expect from Bemz in 2026?

Bemz: 2025 has been a year of like reflecting and growing in different aspects. Whether it was brand work, whether it was events and stuff like that. 2026 is the year that we go back to the roots of it. Back to producing and releasing music. We’re getting ready to start going on a run again, cause I felt like we’ve taken a couple of years out. I feel like the game misses me a little bit. Even if it doesn’t miss me, I’m getting ready to come back and take what’s rightfully mine. 2026 will be filled with music, shows and overall showing people what we’ve been up to in the last year and a half.

Pictures by Euan Robertson